Praise report

Our family budget, like most others', has been a little tight lately. Thankfully, I'm not worried about job security or the basics of life, but we have some debt and savings goals that we don't seem to be meeting lately, and we also want to have enough set aside for our vacation next month. (It's not all that fabulous, and we do everything as cheaply as possible, but our annual beach trip is a tradition that we want to continue. The boys will remember our family time when they're grown, and MommaLlama certainly deserves a break at the end of the school year!) I know mine are minor concerns compared to the many unemployed, homeless, and hungry in the world, but they have been weighing on me for some time. So I wrote a tithe check for an amount that was really more than we could afford at the time, and I asked God to take care of us.

Well, our small act of faith was returned not just 10 times over, but 100 times or more, by way of a really great mortgage refinance. It was something I had been planning to investigate, and we get solicitations in the mail all the time, but I've just never got around to it. However, I felt compelled to respond to this one letter I received last week, and things just worked out beautifully. Tremendous long term savings (lower rate and shorter term), and some very helpful cash flow advantages for the next couple of months.

MommaLlama noticed my act of faith in our register, but she never questioned my sanity, at least not out loud. She trusts me, and I think she's seen it work enough times by now. I don't mean to imply that tithing is an investment strategy, or to promote the Joel Osteen type of health and wealth gospel. Just that God does care, and He does want to take care of our families. I don't know why I was chosen to receive such blessings while others are poor. Maybe it will all be taken away and we'll be tested like Job one day. I hope I could survive such a time with grace and faith. But for now, I'm very thankful for the relative comfort and peace of mind He has given us. I do believe He has given it for the children, not for me.

So, thanks be to God, and I hope someone else is encouraged by our little blessing, and receives one of your own.